The Legacy of Currier & Ives

There’s something wistful and evocative about the work of 19th-century printmakers Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt Ives. They took painted images of American life (often historical or bucolic in nature) and turned them into cheaply produced, inexpensive prints that were hugely popular in Victorian-era America.

A selection of these images will form the basis of an exhibit opening this weekend at the Albany Institute of History & Art. Often using the most accomplished, popular artists, Currier and Ives, according to the exhibit notes, “gave testimony to national art trends, history, and progress through popular prints than hung in homes across America.”

Pictured is The Express Train, (undated, from the Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Mass.) by Currier and Ives.

The Legacy of Currier & Ives: Shaping the American Spirit opens Saturday (Feb. 9) and will remain on view through June 15 at the Albany Institute of History & Art (125 Washington Ave., Albany).